Seven Minutes In Heaven
by readingmama
Summary: Seven minutes in the closet with Edward changes Bella's life in ways she could have never imagined. A story written for Cullen Cousin for FAGE 9.
1. Chapter 1

**FAGE 9: The Last Ride**

 **Title:** Seven Minutes in Heaven

 **Written for:** Cullen Cousin

 **Written By:** Readingmama/Vampiremama

 **Rating:** T

 **Summary/Prompt used:** Author idea itching to get out

 **If you would like to see all the stories that are a part of this exchange visit the facebook group:** **Fanficaholics Anon: Where Obsession Never Sleeps, or add the C2 to get all the stories direct to your inbox.**

 **community/FAGE-9-The-Last-Ride/93625/**

 **Beta:** AcrossTheSkyInStars

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

 **Continuity** : AH/AU 

**Some of this story started a long time ago, and has taken a twist and become part of the last FAGE. aI hope that you will enjoy it. . Many thanks to Acrosstheskyinstars for her shiny red pen and to Chartwilightmom for prereading. I heart you both ladies.**

 **Special thanks to Speklez Kloos who took my baby and did a great job with it. Thanks for all your work on FAGE, from someone who knows just how much work it takes.**

 **Cullen Cousin: You know how much I love me some Carlisle, but I hope you'll forgive me for going with Edward on this one.**

Chapter 1

Edward Cullen lay on his bed, _Pride and Prejudice_ in his hands as he read despite the thump thump of the bass coming from the lower level of the house. He groaned and put down the book. He didn't know how he would ever finish reading it with the noise. He had put off reading it until the last minute but there was a test on Monday and there was no way he was going to pass it at this rate.

A gaggle of girlie laughter came up through the heating vent, and Edward snarled at it.

"Screw this," he mumbled to himself.

He walked out of his bedroom and down the stairs, past the kitchen – where he knew there was likely soda in the fridge – wishing instead to inflict some pain on his sister and her party-goers since they were the reason he was going to flunk English.

Edward was only a year younger than Alice, which he likely could have looked past if his sister wasn't a complete waste of space. Cheerleader and captain of the airheads, Alice had spent the last four years turning into an insufferable human being. His parents kept telling him she would grow out of it but he was beginning to think she had destroyed too many brain cells to come back.

"Ewww, who invited the loser?" Lauren hissed as Edward came down the basement stairs.

"No one, I live here. Isn't that great?" Edward deadpanned.

Lauren snarled. "Oh yeah. I forgot. How Alice has such a dipshit for a younger brother, I'll never know."

Edward rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

He saw what he'd come for and made his way over to the cooler. He grabbed out a Coke and then stopped by a chip bowl; he popped in a few chips but the salt created a craving, and he ended up standing there shoving them in his mouth for a few minutes.

Edward wasn't listening as he snacked until he heard his name called.

"Edward?"

He turned. "What?"

The group of party-goers, seven of them in total, were seated in a circle.

"We're short one boy. Come play."

"Don't be stupid, Jessica," Alice spat. "I can't play spin the bottle with my brother."

"Oh come on, sis. Incest is the best," he replied with a grin, knowing it would gross out her and the rest of her friends. He was rewarded with a chorus of _ews._

"Don't be a baby, Edward. We can't play without another guy. If you guys land on each other, you can just spin again," Jessica explained.

Edward took a look around the group. He wasn't going to kiss his sister, and Lauren was nearly as vile. Jessica was cute enough but everything she said sounded like a whine. Then there was Bella.

Bella Swan was new to town and Edward had to admit he'd never even spoken to her. She looked unimpressed as she waited to see if he'd join the game. She was definitely the most attractive girl in the bunch, but was that reason enough to play?

Edward shrugged and sat down. It was just a kiss. What sixteen year old boy didn't like to be kissed?

"Finally," Mike huffed. The blonde haired boy tossed his head, shaking his Beiber haircut out of his eyes.

"So what are we playing? Standard rules?" Ben asked.

Edward sat quietly. He didn't know there were rules to spin the bottle. Didn't you just…spin the bottle and then kiss whoever it landed on?

"Let's play seven minutes in heaven," Mike suggested, winking at Jessica.

Edward didn't quite know what those rules entailed but he didn't feel like asking and making a fool of himself.

"Okay, let's do this," Bella said, finally speaking. She reached forward and grabbed the bottle, giving it a good spin.

Edward hadn't realized how much he didn't want to be there until it started slowing down. What if it picked him? What if it didn't? The bottle passed by him and then circled around again before stopping, the top pointing directly at his left knee.

Lauren laughed. "Oh, this ought to be good."

Bella stood up and took a swig of her drink before her eyes finally landed on Edward. "Let's go," she said unceremoniously before marching herself into the closet.

Edward stood up and looked around the circle, expecting someone to stop him from following Bella into the laundry closet. He knew that there was nothing in there. Just some shelves with towels and laundry soap. And, of course, now there was a girl; a pretty girl waiting for her seven minutes of heaven. Whatever the heck that was.

Edward stepped into the closet, and although it was dark, he knew exactly where she was.

"Timers on," Mike yelled from the outside of the door.

Edward stepped back as he felt Bella come closer. "Uh, what exactly are we supposed to be doing?" he asked awkwardly.

He heard her chuckle. "Have you ever touched a girl, Edward?"

Edward shook his head and then realized she couldn't see him. "No," he answered honestly.

"Then I'll make it easy for you, champ."

He heard her move, but it wasn't until he felt her tugging on his pants that he realized what she was doing.

"Stop that," he hissed.

"Five minutes," Mike shouted through the door.

"Don't worry. I can finish you in three," she said.

"I said stop," he repeated, feeling a bit confused and perhaps violated.

"What's your problem?" she hissed back, her laidback tone suddenly gone. "Too good to get your dick sucked?"

"Why would you…do _that_? You don't know me?"

"It's the name of the game, Edward."

Edward didn't need to know Bella to know what he said next was the truth. "You're better than that."

"How would you know? You don't even know me." Bella snapped back.

"I just do. You deserve more," he replied.

She laughed but there was no humor in her tone. She didn't believe him. Edward could tell that whoever she was or whatever she'd been through, someone had convinced her she was no better than giving head to her friend's brother at a party.

"Please stand up."

He could hear her sigh as she made her way off the floor. He tugged his pants back up and buttoned them.

"One minute," Mike shouted through the door.

"So you just want to grab my boob or something?"

"You deserve better than that, too," he replied.

"Well then, what do I deserve, Edward?"

Edward didn't know what came over him. He had kissed one girl before, and was by no means an expert, but he couldn't help himself as he leaned into her and pressed his lips to hers. His kiss was delicate and respectful but filled with just enough desire that she'd feel desired.

When he pulled back, there was complete silence for three seconds until Mike opened the door and declared obnoxiously, "Time's up."

Light filled the small room and he looked back to see Bella standing there staring at him. Her hand was up by her face, her fingers touching her lips. She was slightly flushed and Edward wondered how he'd missed just how beautiful she was. He gave her a small shy smile, and as soon as she saw it, she dropped her hand.

"Whatever," she hissed as she stormed out of the closet. She grabbed a coat off the couch and bolted up the stairs.

"What the fuck, Edward?" Lauren wailed.

Edward didn't pause to answer her, chasing after Bella instead.

He took the stairs three at a time but somehow she had still managed to beat him to the front door. When he pulled it open, she was already in her car and pulling out of the driveway.

The rest of the party followed Edward upstairs and he scowled as Ben slapped him on the back.

"You cracked the Ice Swan. Nice, man."

Edward turned to him, shoving him back.

"You're an asshole."

Fifteen minutes later, Edward was back in his room wondering how his night had gotten so strange. Had he just stayed upstairs, everything would have been okay. Alice's party wouldn't have been a disaster and Bella would be downstairs coming out of the closet with some other guy. The idea made Edward sick. Why would a girl do that? Did his sister do that? Edward shook away the disgusting thought.

A knock on his door came right before his sister burst in.

"What, Alice?"

"I don't know what you did, Edward, but don't waste your time mooning on Bella Swan."

"I'm not," he denied.

"Seriously, little brother, she's been in the closet before, if you know what I mean. It doesn't mean anything to her."

"Don't worry about it, Alice. Nothing happened."

"Yeah right, Edward. I've heard about what Bella does in the closet." Edward hid the wince he felt.

"Well don't believe everything you hear," he said, almost uninterested.

Alice studied him for a moment. "Okay."

She turned to go. "Alice?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't go in the closet unless it means something."

Alice huffed but she had a smile on her face. "Don't be a loser."

"I'm serious," he replied.

"I know."


	2. Chapter 2

**Title** : Seven Minutes in Heaven  
 **Author** : Readingmama/Vampiremama  
 **Beta:** AcrossTheSkyInStars

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

 **Continuity** : AH/AU  
 **Rating** : M

 **Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing, alerting and lurking. I appreciate you all. Huge hugs to my beta Acrosstheskyinstars and to Chartwilightmom for prereading.**

 **If you haven't checked out the amazing banner Mina made me, make sure you do. It's beautiful.**

Ch 2

Bella Swan had cried on the weekend. She didn't like it. In fact, she hadn't remembered crying since she fell off her bike at six years old, when she'd scraped her knee. It had hurt like hell but she'd take that pain over crying after a stupid boy. The way Edward had kissed her was like nothing she'd ever felt. Her whole body tingled. She'd always thought people saying stuff like that was a bunch of bullshit; now she knew better.

How was she supposed to just go back to life as usual?

Anger built up in her after she'd finished crying. She'd never really thought much about how she'd behaved. Kissing a few boys led to touching, led to…well, a lot of seven minutes in closets. It had gotten her attention and, she thought respect, but now she wondered if Edward was right.

What if she did deserve better than this?

And now that she wanted better, would there be any guy that would look passed her past to give it to her?

Bella had never realized the armor she had built up around herself until Edward knocked it down with a single kiss. She wanted to punch him.

Already feeling raw from the weekend, Bella walked into school with her head down. She wanted to be left alone, feeling like she wasn't comfortable in her own skin anymore. It wasn't until she was at her locker that she saw the rose taped to it. She looked at the thing like it was about to bite her.

Glancing around to see if anyone else saw it, she reached out and pulled it off, a small note falling from behind it. She bent down and picked it up, turning it over and reading the elegant script on the back of the paper.

 _A lady deserves to get flowers._

Bella felt her defenses go up.

 _Yes, I got it, Edward,_ she thought, _you don't have to keep telling me._

She found it cruel that he would taunt her with his ideals. He made her want more, but how was she supposed to get it now? It was like promising a reward to someone who had no chance of getting it.

Tossing the flower and note in her locker, she grabbed her books and headed to class.

~~7MiH~~

Edward had never received so much attention in his life. He hated it. Football players were patting him on the back. Girls he'd never even seen before were handing him love notes. He couldn't even fathom what had happened to make him so popular overnight.

"Nice, man." Another slap on his shoulder. He was going to have a bruise.

"Edward," another voice boomed, and he turned around to see Jacob Black, the captain of the basketball team, heading towards him. "You have to tell me, man. What did you do with Swan that has her panties in a twist?"

Edward flinched. So that was what this was all about? He glared at the other boy. "A gentleman never kisses and tells," he replied simply.

"Got it," Jacob replied with an exaggerated wink and took off down the hall, leaving Edward even more confused and irritated than before.

~~7MiH~~

"Edward's been telling everyone he went down on you in the closet," Jessica said as she sat next to Bella in the cafeteria.

"What?" Bella said quietly. It was the first thing she'd said to her friends all day.

"It's true. Jacob said he said he kissed you…down there. So, Bella, was he any good? You certainly left in a hurry."

What was Edward playing at? He told her that she deserved better and then he told this ridiculous lie about her.

Normally when a guy lied about her and how far they'd gone, she'd tell tales of his inabilities and shortcomings; however, this betrayal made her sick. Maybe because it was the first one she never saw coming.

"I gotta go," she said, getting up and leaving her lunch behind. She ran to the bathroom and locked herself in the first stall. Once again, Bella Swan was crying over a boy.

~~7MiH~~

The next morning, Bella felt even less like her old self. She couldn't pick out anything to wear, everything made her feel like she would be on display. She just wanted to hide. Edward wasn't the first guy to spread lies about her but he was the first one to hurt her with them.

After she'd had breakfast, she had gathered enough courage to head to school, but was immediately derailed when she opened the door and on her porch was a box of chocolates with a note attached. She stepped out onto the deck and looked around. Not seeing anyone, she picked them up and read the note.

 _A lady deserves to be spoiled._

"Son of a…" she turned and hurled the candies off the porch, watching as they opened and sprinkled onto the neighbor's bushes.

Edward Cullen was in for an earful today. She was going to tell him to leave her the hell alone. What was his problem, anyway? She'd offered him a blowjob, he hadn't taken it. Why should she be suffering now that he wanted to look like the big man? Screw him.

As Bella entered the school, she saw Alice chatting with Lauren by the school trophy display case. She marched over and grabbed her arm. "Where is your brother?"

"He's home sick today," Alice replied. "Why?"

"Why is he telling everyone shit about me?" Bella asked, sounding more vulnerable than she wanted to.

"I'll just see you guys later," Lauren said, taking her leave from the awkward conversation.

"What do you mean? What did he say?" Alice asked, confused.

"He told everyone that he went down on me in the closet."

Alice narrowed her eyes. "You heard him say this?"

"No, but Jake said that was what he told him. And then he gives me this flower and these chocolates and I can't figure out why he's torturing me."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Jake is an idiot. I can guarantee Edward never said that. He's not the type. And who is giving you flowers and chocolates? Jake or Edward?"

Bella was sniffling now. She was too confused to make sense of any of it. Why would Jake say that if Edward hadn't?

"This is so stupid," she replied. "Just forget it."

Bella was fed up with high school.

~~7MiH~~

The next morning when Bella opened her locker she wasn't even surprised when a note came tumbling out. She sighed and bent down to pick it up. On the outside it read: _A lady deserves words as sweet as her._ The note had been folded intricately into a triangle that required several tugs before she could get it open.

 _A simple smile, a tender touch.  
To bask within it, means so much.  
A girl as special a one as you,  
requires a gentleman, to properly woo._

"What the…?" Bella said, staring at the note.

Enough was enough; Bella didn't want the rest of her high school life to be double guessed by a few words from a younger boy. What did he know, anyway?

Bella headed down the hallway of the grade ten lockers. She saw his mess of copper hair above the other students. She wondered how she hadn't noticed he was so tall, but then realized it was all girls around him. He had no less than six girls batting their eyes at him while he retrieved his books.

Marching herself right up to him, she huffed when she was blocked by two girls.

"Edward," she said with a hiss.

He looked over, surprise covering his features as he took in all the girls around him. She wondered if he really hadn't noticed them before she'd arrived.

"We need to talk."

"Oh," he said as he tried to move through the sea of girls. "Excuse me."

Edward followed her as she led him down the hall. Bella could hear the snickers of the girls behind her, but she ignored them, or at least she tried to until one called out.

"Slut, why don't you save some for the rest of us?"

Bella intended on ignoring that as well. After all, she'd been called worse, but it was Edward who stopped.

He turned and stormed back over to the girl who stood there, looking about as wide-eyed as Bella felt.

"Bella is not a slut. If you are trying to get my attention, hurling insults and resorting to name calling is not a good method."

"It's not name calling if it's true," the girl hissed back, now annoyed at being singled out.

"Oh," Edward said, feigning surprise. "In that case, you'll have to excuse me, _bitch_ , I'm going to talk with my friend."

Bella covered her mouth to stop the burst of laughter that came from her mouth. The girl turned her attention back to her and narrowed her eyes but Bella couldn't have cared less, she was watching Edward as he walked back to her.

"That was awesome. Unnecessary, but awesome. Thank you," Bella said.

"I felt that it was very necessary," he replied simply.

When they found a quiet corridor, Edward stopped. "What did you want to talk about?" His bravado was quickly gone and all that was left was a nervous sixteen year old boy.

Bella couldn't keep up with his personality shifts. "What is your deal, Edward?"

"My deal?" he asked, confused.

"Yes, your deal. With the flowers and the notes and the candy? Do you think I'm going to just fall for you cause you're nice to me and you didn't want me to suck your dick?"

Edward laughed. "I never said I didn't want you to." He ducked his head as his face flushed from his admission. "No, Bella. I don't think you are going to fall for me." His tone was sad and it made Bella stumble again.

"Then what are you doing all this for?"

"I'm just showing you what you deserve, Bella. It doesn't have to be me. But it should be someone that respects you."

"But you respect me?"

"Yes."

His answer was so quick, and Bella felt almost angry. He didn't even know her, why would he respect her?

"I've been in that closet 12 times." She knew she was going for shock effect. _She_ felt shocked at admitting it out loud.

"So?"

"You're the first one to say no to me."

He kept his eyes on her. "Oh."

"Still respect me?"

"Yes," he answered again without hesitation.

Bella let out a frustrated sound and turned on her heel, heading off down the hall. Edward was impossible to understand. How could he simultaneously make her feel so worthy and so unworthy at the same time? He made it sound like he didn't even want her, so why was he trying so hard to get under her skin? But then he said it should be someone that respected her. And he respected her.

But did she want him?

~~7MiH~~

Edward went over the conversation in his mind again and again. Why did he tell her it didn't have to be him? He was scared, and in high school a year difference is major, especially when the boy is the younger one. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

He wasn't exactly sure why he wanted to prove this point to Bella. Maybe it was because she reminded him of his mother, his real mother, the one that had given him up for adoption at birth. He didn't know much about her, only that she had been seventeen and had to give him up. He'd never really thought much about the kids in his school and their sex lives, but he'd always known that he wanted to wait. There were things he wanted to do before he was willing to risk becoming a father.

But with Bella in that closet, he suddenly became aware that she could end up just like his mother. He had no idea what she was like in school, if she was smart, but he knew it wouldn't matter either way if she got pregnant. Besides, the idea of her having sex felt like a punch in the gut to him.

The rest of the afternoon went quickly for Edward, he thought a lot about Bella. He wondered if she thought about him as well. It seemed that no matter what he did, though, he upset her. He couldn't figure out why treating someone with kindness and respect would make them so mad. There was a lot about girls he had to learn.

Edward walked to Alice's car, waiting for her to drive them home. She always took longer than Edward at the end of the day, taking time to find each one of her friends and say goodbye. Edward had a few friends but didn't search them out at the end of the day; if he saw one, they'd just give a nod and say, "See you tomorrow."

Yet another major difference between boys and girls.

He sat against the front of the Dodge, reading his book, when he heard Alice approach. He quickly scanned the rest of the page and tucked his bookmark in before looking up.

"Bella?" he said, surprised to see that it wasn't his sister.

"Do you want to date me?" she blurted.

"What?" Edward said, his mind screaming at him, wondering if this was a trick.

"Do you want to date me?" she repeated.

"Are you asking me out?" Edward hedged, still unsure if he was walking into a trap.

"Yeah…no. I mean, is that why you did those things? Did you want to go out with me?"

Edward sighed. She didn't want to go out with him. She still didn't see her worth; that was what this was about. "I would love to go out with you, Bella, but that isn't what this was about," he answered honestly. What did he have to lose at this point anyway? "I just wanted you to know how you should be treated, no matter who you date."

Bella huffed, and Edward flinched internally. What had he said wrong now? "Why can't you give me a straight answer? Who sends candy and flowers and then tells a girl to date someone else?"

"I didn't tell you to date someone else."

"So then you do want to date me….one word, Edward, yes or no." She stared at him intently, he felt like her eyes were looking deep inside of him.

"Yes," he replied.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay, let's go out."


	3. Chapter 3

**Title** : Seven Minutes in Heaven  
 **Author** : Readingmama/Vampiremama  
 **Beta:** AcrossTheSkyInStars

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

 **Continuity** : AH/AU  
 **Rating** : M

 **Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing, alerting and lurking. I appreciate you all. Huge hugs to my beta Acrosstheskyinstars and to Chartwilightmom for prereading.**

Chapter 3

 **3 months later**

Bella and Edward had been on seventeen dates and they had still yet to tell anyone they were together. Alice knew, but that was about it. Neither of them said anything at school, barely acknowledging each other in the hall. It was driving Edward crazy.

"Why can't we eat lunch together?" Edward asked one day, unable to hide the hurt in his voice.

"It's just with all the rumors about us; I don't want to start any more."

Edward had understood, but his understanding was wearing thin. It had been three months and she hadn't wanted to be seen in public with him. Their dates consisted of hanging out together at one of their houses, watching movies or chatting on the couch. There had been kissing, but Edward usually stopped that before it went too far. His control with her was much less than she seemed to realize and so he put the brakes on quickly before he found himself spiraling out of control.

Edward, while respectful of Bella's request, was upset at being shunned by the girl he had fallen for so quickly, but it wasn't until he attempted to say hi to her in the hall and was greeted with a horrified expression that he thought enough was enough.

He grabbed Bella's arm and bent down to whisper in her ear, "We need to talk."

"Later," she hissed, glancing around to see who was looking.

"No. Now."

Bella looked up at Edward, and his expression was enough for her to nod and follow him. They found themselves in a quiet corridor, both feeling awkward at the sudden change in their day.

"What is it?" Bella asked. Her voice was not without concern but Edward was not sure if it was for him or in case someone saw them.

"This is ridiculous, Bella," Edward started. "We've been going out three months and you're scared to say hi to me."

"We've talked about this. The rumors have finally died down."

While the talking might have gotten less frequent, Edward was still being high-fived in the hallway. Well they were still trying, even though he'd never met their raised hands. He was sick of it, and if they came out with their relationship, he thought that might stop.

"It's been three months, Bella." Edward felt a pit in his stomach. "Unless you just don't want to be seen with me?"

"That's not it," Bella reassured.

"Then prove it."

"What?"

"Be my girlfriend. Not just at our houses, but everywhere."

Bella seemed unsure; she rocked back and forth on her feet before looking up and nodding. "Okay," she said softly.

"Okay?"

"Yeah," she replied, taking his hand and walking back through the school.

Bella still seemed a bit nervous as they rounded the corner back to where students were milling. Edward gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and she looked up at him and smiled. The first person to spot them was a redheaded girl who turned and whispered something to her friend, causing them both to look back and gawk at the new couple.

Whispers and stares aside, Edward felt this was the best day of his life. He hated having to hide his feelings for Bella in public. It's not as if he were the type to make out against the lockers at school but he wanted to be able to hold her hand, eat lunch with her, and even just say hi in the hallway.

Edward believed that with them out in public, what was left of the whispers and jeers would quickly disappear. In fact, he felt invincible as he walked into his next class. Bella, however, was feeling like she had a huge target on her back as she walked into the next one.

"Going back for more, Bella?" a mousy brunette behind her said. Bella could never remember her name, not that she really made an effort.

Bella didn't turn back, so the girl kept talking, "Leah said she saw you guys sneaking out of the west hallway. Turn around, let me see your face, I'll let you know if you got all the jizz off."

Bella let out a sigh and lifted her hand, extending her middle finger to the girl behind her, who just laughed at the slight.

She always knew she had a reputation, it had never bothered her. Any attention was good attention, she thought. She hadn't known how good it would feel to be treated right, and now her old reputation felt like a burn, ugly and disfigured and something she would never get rid of.

By lunchtime, Bella felt frazzled. She had been called a slut in fourteen different ways and there was nothing she wanted to do more than go home and crawl into her bed and never come out.

"Bella," Edward called out as she entered the cafeteria. He waved, and she tried her best to give him a smile. She took her bagged lunch and sat down next to him.

"Hi," she said softly.

"Hi," he replied with a giant grin on his face. It was clear that he had been getting much different treatment than she had after they had parted ways.

It was hard for her to look at Edward; she was sure he would see what she wanted to keep from him. That all those comments that had been hurled at her were true, she was a slut. The difference now was she didn't want to be one. When she met his eyes, there was no judgment in them, just a boy happy that she was his girlfriend.

"Fuck them," she said under her breath.

"What?" Edward said, unable to hear her over the hum of the other students in the cafeteria.

"I like you," she said, this time louder so he could hear her.

Edward's answering smile was blinding. "I like you, too."

"Can I eat with you guys?" Alice's voice cut through as she stood awkwardly with her tray.

"Sure," Edward said, nodding for her to sit.

Bella and Alice had always been friends, she thought, but over the past few months, they had become real friends. Alice had dropped her attitude, and with that, most of their other friends. Bella spent most her time with either Alice or Edward, and even though she had prided herself before about being popular, she couldn't help but feel she was much richer now than she had been. They had been eating lunch together while Bella pretended not to date Edward, but that left Alice alone now, and Bella felt like a heel not thinking of it before.

"You're always welcome at our table," Bella said with a smile.

Alice sat down easily. With her uncertainty gone, she broke into stories of her day and the plans the three of them should have later.

~~7MiH~~

Bella and Edward built a cocoon around themselves and they refused to let anyone else in. They spent nearly all their time together, occasionally adding Alice in as well. Their kissing led to touching but it was still mostly innocent. Bella no longer felt rejected when Edward stopped, but instead she felt respected and cherished. She still made him do all the stopping, but she didn't push for more the way she used to either.

There were so many interesting things to learn about Edward, Bella felt absolutely plain in comparison to him, although he kept telling her different. Even though she didn't play any instruments and her reading list consisted of what they had to read for school, Edward still seemed intrigued by everything she told him. Sometimes at night she would lay and remember the look on his face as they talked. He leaned in and kept his eyes on hers, reacting to each story as if he were there, trying to live it with her. The scar on her knee from when she fell out of a tree at age six was her favorite story to relive while she waited for sleep. She had pulled up her pants, to show him the scar that wrapped around her kneecap in the shape of a heart. She'd fallen out of the tree on a rock and sliced it badly. Edward had taken his finger and traced the line as she told the story. When she told him it took twelve stitches, he leaned and placed twelve small kisses on her knee. Her heart fluttered and her body warmed every time she thought of it.

Bella knew there was no way she was ever going to be without Edward. He made her a better person. He made her smarter, just by talking to him, although he did help her with her homework as well. Together they tried new things, Edward learning he didn't mind a little karaoke every once in a while and Bella that she could appreciate the beauty of nature with a long hike.

She was seventeen, and it was ridiculous, but Bella had every intention of marrying Edward one day. When the thought crossed her mind, she worried she would push Edward, knowing that if they were forever, it wouldn't be wrong to be more intimate, but she found knowing they had forever, she could be patient.

~~7MiH~~

Edward railed, tossing things in his room. A lamp smashed as it hit the wall and several CD cases exploded as they were hurled about.

"This isn't fair," he yelled, angry at his parents even though he knew their decision wasn't made to hurt him. He was even angrier that he knew he wasn't justified in his anger.

"Shit," he cussed, not as loudly this time as he kicked his bed. The pain shot up his foot immediately and he pulled it back, hopping as the pain and anger coursed through him. As quickly as the anger came upon him, it dissipated, and he slumped down on his bed. He rested his elbows on his knees and he dropped his head to his hands.

If only he wasn't sixteen with raging hormones, he might be able to come up with a solution. Of course if he were dumber he'd just believe everything would work out. Unfortunately, his hormones made him inconsolable and his brains told him his hormones were right. Things were screwed and there was no getting better.

And now he had to tell Bella.

~~7MiH~~

Bella sat on her couch, her mouth agape as Edward told her his news. She was numb, totally completely numb.

"You're moving?" Her voice didn't sound right to her, it was like she was underwater.

"I don't want to," Edward replied desperately.

"But you are."

"Yes."

Bella looked down at her hands; she wondered when the tears would start. They would come, she was sure of that.

"And you leave in two weeks?"

"Yeah. Dad's new job starts right away. Can we stay in touch?"

"Yeah," Bella replied, although they both knew the odds of two teenagers and a long distance relationship. "We can't stay together."

"I know," Edward replied.

"It wouldn't work, I'm seventeen, and you're just sixteen."

"I know," he said again.

"But we can be friends."

The words cut Edward like a knife but he pushed his feelings down. "I have to get home. Mom told me I had to come right back, there is a lot of packing to do. And I'm kind of grounded."

"Grounded?" Bella looked up, shocked. "How did _you_ get grounded?"

"I broke some stuff." He shrugged.

Bella smiled. She hadn't realized how many of her insecurities had popped up until that moment. He was just as upset as she was. "Thank you."

"What for?" he asked, confused.

"For getting grounded for me. It's the sweetest thing you've done." Bella stood up and walked over to him. Cupping his cheeks gently, she pulled his face down to hers, kissing him.

"Really? Sweeter than turning down a blowjob?" he teased.

"Okay, second sweetest. I love you, Edward Cullen," she stated simply.

"I love you, too, Bella Swan."

The moment after Edward left, Bella's legs gave out and the tears began. She shook until her muscles were sore and her eyes nearly swollen shut.

Two hours later, her father found her asleep on the floor and he picked her up and carried her to bed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title** : Seven Minutes in Heaven  
 **Author** : Readingmama/Vampiremama  
 **Beta:** AcrossTheSkyInStars

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

 **Continuity** : AH/AU  
 **Rating** : M

 **Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing, alerting and lurking. I appreciate you all. Huge hugs to my beta Acrosstheskyinstars and to Chartwilightmom for prereading.**

Chapter 4

 **1 month later**

To: BSwan1990

From:SirECullen

Subject: I miss you

Hi Bella,

We are finally all settled here. Alice is loving being the new girl, apparently it's getting her lots of attention. I'm just glad she hung around you long enough to know what the right kind of attention is. My room is bigger now. I wasn't sure at first but now that all my stuff is in it, I can see how much extra room I really have.

We have a neighbor that is Alice's age, and your age, I guess. His name is Emmett. I don't know if we'll have anything in common but he seemed nice enough when I met him the other day. It's windy here in Chicago, which is why I guess they call it the windy city.

I found a place you'd love the other day. It's a coffee shop and it's really small but every Wednesday night they have karaoke. The whole place is filled with oversized chairs and bohemian art. I went but I didn't sing, Alice called me a loser but I could tell she was missing you too. It's just not the same singing love shack without you.

I started school last week. The classes are very different, I'm in Honors English and Math. I made a new friend; everyone just calls him glasses, even the teacher, so I don't know his real name. We've hung out a couple of times; we have a lot in common. He plays the guitar so we are toying with the idea of starting a band. Too bad you aren't here to sing for us.

But my classes are great. We are reading things that aren't on the basic syllabus, which means we are reading things I haven't read yet. And everyone asks questions so I don't feel out of place, or get teased asking stuff.

Speaking of teasing, has Mike gotten any better? You said he was giving you a hard time after I left. I know there aren't a lot of choices in Forks, but you can do better than him. Maybe I have no right to say that. I'm just saying as a friend, find someone worthy of you.

I miss you.

Edward.

To: SirECullen

From: BSwan1990

Subject: re: I miss you

Hey,

Chicago sounds great, I wish I could come and see the karaoke place. I haven't been since you and Alice left. (Tell her I'm emailing her right after this) It's no fun to go on my own.

I miss you too. I hate it here. At least there's only a half a year left and then I can get out of this town. Unfortunately, with our cash flow, I won't be going much farther than Seattle. But a new city with new people sounds awesome. Have you thought about where you'll be going? Or is it too early yet? You still have another year.

Edward, do you have no faith in me? I wouldn't let Mike Newton touch me with a ten foot pole. He's just being an ass. He doesn't want me really. He just wants me to want him. But don't worry, I won't be dating any time soon. The only boy in Forks worth dating moved a month ago.

Besides, Lauren's been much worse than Mike since you guys have been gone. She's been spreading rumors that I'm ass at blowjobs. I confronted her and told her the only way she'd know that is if she had a dick. Apparently her embarrassment, as I announced this in front of the whole cafeteria, has made me her new favorite punching bag.

She also spilled a drink on me after school "by accident". I was so mad I punched her. Luckily it was off school grounds so there wasn't much she could do without involving our parents. Since then, people have been keeping their distance, but it still sucks. They still whisper and shit.

But you don't want to hear about the crappy.

I hope to hear from you soon.

XOXO

Bella

 **Six Months Later**

To: BSwan1990

From:SirECullen

Subject: Sorry

Bella,

Sorry, I've not emailed in a while. Things are crazy here with finals. My classes are so much harder here but I love the stuff we are learning. Glasses and his older sister have been helping me cram. You remember, I told you about her, Tanya? Anyway, she is super smart and thanks to her I think I will ace my tests.

I wish I could write more, but I still have two more subjects to keep cramming for. How are you doing? Graduation is only a short ways away!

Edward.

To: SirECullen

From: BSwan1990

Subject: re: Sorry

Hey Edward,

No, I don't think you have mentioned Glasses sister before. She sounds really great. It's really great you have someone to help you out. I'm going to stop saying great now.

I wrote my first final today and I have two more tomorrow. I wish you were here to help me study.

Things at school have gotten worse. But it's okay, just a couple weeks and I'll never have to see most of them again. Hopefully the ones I do will just ignore me.

Well, back to studying.

XOXO

Bella

 **One year later**

To: SirECullen

From: BSwan1990

Subject: Hey

Hey Edward,

I'm halfway through my first semester of college already. I love it here. Now I know why they say if you just get through high school it's all up hill from there.

How's school?

Bella

To: BSwan1990

From:SirECullen

Subject: Re: Hey

School is good. It's great you like yours.

TTYS


	5. Chapter 5

**Title** : Seven Minutes in Heaven  
 **Author** : Readingmama/Vampiremama  
 **Beta:** AcrossTheSkyInStars

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

 **Continuity** : AH/AU  
 **Rating** : M

 **Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing, alerting and lurking. I appreciate you all. Huge hugs to my beta Acrosstheskyinstars and to Chartwilightmom for prereading.**

Chapter 5

 **7 Years later**

"Goodnight, Bella."

"Goodnight, Quil."

Bella's tall, handsome boyfriend leaned in and kissed her in the hallway of her condo. He was the perfect gentleman. He was everything she wanted. He had all the qualities she was looking for, except he wasn't Edward.

She'd had a string of boyfriends, all whom would have made the grade with Edward's guidelines, but none of them sparked the fire inside her like Edward had. None of them had made her feel special the way Edward had, but she was scared to go back to the other kind of man. She never wanted to feel the way she did in high school again.

Quil hugged her and then let her go, waiting for her to enter her condo and lock the door before he left. He never tried to get in, he understood she was waiting. Sometimes she wished he'd be a little less understanding. It's not that she wanted to have sex with Quil, but feeling like she was desired might help their relationship move to that next point.

She'd had sex with her college boyfriend. They had been together two years and she thought it was what she wanted. In the end, it was as lackluster as the relationship had been and they parted ways amicably. Bella didn't want sex unless it was going to be both loving and good. That was what she was waiting for.

~~7MiH~~

"What are you doing?" Kate asked as she walked in, seeing Bella with her head tilted back and her mouth open as she stared at the ceiling.

Bella immediately closed her gaping pie hole and turned to her friend. "Would you believe praying for the end of the world?"

Kate just laughed, very used to Bella's dramatics by now. The two had met just after university and had been friends ever since. They'd both gotten a job with the same company, Bella in human resources and Kate in sales, and they'd been inseparable ever since. Kate's boyfriend, Garrett, worked in the same building and the three of them spent a lot of time together, the couple never making Bella feel like the third wheel. Even when Bella dated, she rarely brought them out with her friends, saving them for times when she needed to blow off steam alone.

"Bad day, sweetums?" she teased, placing the extra tea in her hand down in front of Bella.

"I have to break up with Quil," Bella answered.

"What? No," Kate whined. "He's so cute, and tall, and have you seen his ass?"

Bella laughed. "No, Kate, I've been dating him four months and I haven't noticed his tight buns of steel."

"So then what's the problem?"

Bella sighed and stood up, grabbing her tea. She linked her arm with her friend's and headed out of her office. "He's just not the one."

"But he's like a tanned Clark Kent in those glasses of his, if I wasn't taken…"

"If you weren't taken you'd what?" a strong male voice interrupted. Bella let go of Kate's arm as her boyfriend, Garrett, strode up to them.

"I'd kill myself for losing the sexiest man in the world," Kate replied, no stranger to dramatics herself.

Garrett shook his head, laughing and not believing a word. "You see what I have to put up with?" he queried over Kate's head at Bella.

"I've known her longer than you, I know all about it," Bella replied with a smug smile.

Kate elbowed her as the three of them headed out of the building for lunch.

~~7MiH~~

Bella sat on her couch, a jar of olives in front of her and a spoon in her hand. She took yet another one out of the jar, loaded it into her spoon, bent it back and then let it fly, landing in the cup on the windowsill.

"Yes!" Bella cheered for herself as she raised both hands in the air.

Just as Bella loaded up the next spoon her phone rang. She bent her spoon back anyway, but the sound of the next ring made her miss the shot, her olive spattering on the window.

Bella turned and glared at the phone before picking it up.

"Hello."

"Hey, sweetums, come out and play with us!" Kate's voice whined through the receiver.

"Naw, I'm good. I have some stuff I got to get done for work."

"It's Friday, save it til Sunday night. Didn't you learn anything in University?" There was a pause. "Are you eating ice cream?"

Bella looked at the empty tub on her coffee table. "Nooooooo," she replied suspiciously.

"Are you on to playing olive basketball already?"

"No, shut up," Bella harrumphed into the phone, annoyed that her friend knew her so well.

"This is serious. I'll be over in ten."

"Kate, no, really. I just want to chill tonight."

"It's been two weeks since you broke up with Quil. Are you regretting it? Cause he would take you back, you know he would."

Bella chucked her spoon down on her coffee table and stood up. "I don't want Quil."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Edward," Bella sighed.

"Who's Edward? Wait, never mind. I'm on my way. We'll stay in, but I think this is a talk we should have with drinks."

Bella didn't even try to argue, she knew her friend was coming whether she wanted her to or not. Kate was a good friend, and now that Bella had spoken the name she had kept to herself for so many years, she was feeling anxious to talk about him. Kate would understand, and maybe getting the whole story out might help put some closure on the situation.

Less than an hour later, Kate was sitting on Bella's couch as she told of her high school love. Kate took a sip of her drink as she listened to Bella. She hadn't said a word since Bella started her story but her mind had been going a mile a minute.

"How come you've never told me about him?" Kate asked.

Bella shrugged. "It never came up. I don't know about your high school boyfriends. It was a long time ago."

"But my high school boyfriends are in my past. This Edward is haunting your presence."

Bella picked at a hangnail and bobbed her head. When she finished, she looked up at her friend. "Do you think I'm crazy?"

"You're not crazy, Bella," Kate assured. "But I think you are looking at this guy with rose colored glasses on. Sure, he was great in high school, but he sounds like the same type of guy you always date and get bored of. I think you need to step out of your 'type' and find a guy that interests you, not one that fits a specific list you made when you were seventeen."

"Maybe you're right," Bella acquiesced, although she wasn't sure. Edward had been similar to the men she dated but there was one thing he had that the others didn't. Her love.

"But seriously, Bella, you were a slut? I just can't see it." Kate laughed as Bella took the pillow from the couch and threw it at her.

When the laughter died down, Bella looked more serious. "I was just a stupid kid. Edward was the one that stopped it from being a lifelong affliction."

"Well then, to Edward," Kate said, lifting up her glass.

Bella clinked the side of hers to Kate's and repeated, "To Edward."

About two hours and several drinks later, the two friends were giggling and sharing stories from their past. Kate had told Bella that before Garret she had dated this guy who was cross-eyed and it made her giggle every time he looked at her breasts.

"That's horrible!" Bella admonished, but her body betrayed her as she began to giggle as well.

Bella even told Kate about Mike Newton and how he had tried right up until Graduation to get into her pants with insults.

"He was a real charmer," Bella said. "All girls like a man who tells them…" she deepened her voice to sound like Mike, "…everyone knows you like it, anyway. What's the problem… because if you like sex, it doesn't matter the source?" Bella rolled her eyes, but she was glad that she was able to laugh about it now. She no longer felt haunted by that past.

"You should email him," Kate suggested.

"Who? Mike?" Bella asked, confused.

"Edward."

Bella sighed and shook her head. "I can't. A couple years back I tried to email him and he'd changed his email."

"Facebook?"

"If he's got one, I can't find it," Bella admitted. After the Facebook trail had come up empty, she didn't bother trying. She was just looking to reconnect, not stalk him.

"Well shit," Kate slurred. "Okay then let's go find you a new man. A sexy one that makes you want to say yes even when you're saying no."

"Okay," Bella replied, but she stayed laid back and relaxed on the couch. "Tomorrow."

Kate, just as comfortable and inebriated, nodded. "Tomorrow."

~~7MiH~~

The previous evening had been cathartic, exactly what Bell had needed. She felt like she had purged Edward from her, gotten closure. Kate had been right, it'd been seven years and there was no way Edward was the same boy she knew. She wasn't the same girl he'd moved away from. There was a hope that he was happy, but she knew she couldn't dwell on him any longer. Life was waiting and she needed to live it.

Life sucked. Although she felt free and able to face the world, work was in her way and it was dragging. And to add to that, she had a residual headache from the drinks she and Kate had pounded back. Bella pulled out her cell phone and sent Kate a quick text.

 _Plans tonight?_

It was only a few minutes before her phone vibrated on her desk.

 _Band at Mickey's. Wanna cum?_

Bella agreed instantly, she'd been to Mickey's a couple of time and had always enjoyed their entertainment; most bands chose to cover classic rock, and did a decent job at it. Mickey's itself was a little run down but it had a lot of character. The outer walls were rimmed with booths and the rest of the room was set with tall tables and chairs you had to climb up on. Kate and Bella used to make a game out of watching the drunk people fall from their perches. There was a small stage and an even smaller floor in front of it to dance on. Most people didn't dance, so it was rarely crowded.

By the time they arrived there that night, the tables were already mostly full. Garrett spotted one and told the girls to grab it while he procured the drinks. Bella laughed as Kate's ass was groped as she passed a little too close to a table of already quite drunk frat boys. Kate mumbled a threat at Bella, but she couldn't hear it over the noise in the bar. The band was mid song and Bella could already feel her foot tapping along with the beat as she sat.

"I'm so glad you came out with us tonight," Kate yelled over the noise to Bella.

"Me too," Bella said honestly. It had been too long since she'd really had fun.

"This is the first night of a competition. They're going to have new bands for the next six weeks. Every Friday."

"Sounds fun," Bella replied right before Garrett placed her drink down in front of her. She looked up to thank him only to realize it wasn't Garrett.

"Let's just skip this part and go right to the introductions, I'm Sam." He was tall and good looking. He was clearly native, with a long braid, tanned skin, and friendly eyes.

"And what part is that?" Bella asked, amused as Kate watched on.

"The part where you say you don't accept drinks from strangers, and hopefully the part where you tell me you already have a boyfriend?" His voice was hopeful.

Garrett arrived just then and Sam's face dropped. "I'm sorry, enjoy the drink."

"Wait!" Bella called out as he turned to go. Sam turned around and looked back at Bella. "Her boyfriend," she pointed at Kate.

Sam's face lit up again and Bella couldn't help but smile.

"Wanna have a seat?" she offered, and he immediately sat down. "I'm Bella."

"It's great to meet you, Bella," he said and his smile held mischief.

Bella and Sam got along great, he was funny and nice, he had a good job and he was very cute. For the first time in a long time, Bella didn't worry about anything but the moment. She knew she wasn't going to crawl into bed with him, that still wasn't what she was looking for, but it didn't mean some flirting wasn't called for.

"I have to use the restroom," she said before getting up and stumbling as she slipped off the chair. Kate grabbed her arm and steadied her.

"Careful, don't turn into one of the locals," she teased.

Bella shot her a look and then made her way to the washroom. She thought about Sam the whole time. He was what she was looking for; he was nice but not too nice. She wondered if he would be the type of guy that would respect her wanting to wait, but make her burn for more.

After washing her hands and smoothing down her hair she took a step out of the bathroom and right into Sam. His arms went around her to steady her as she wobbled, more from the collision than her alcoholic intake.

"Hey, are you stalking me?" Bella teased as she felt a flush of heat from being in his arms. The way he held her made her insides flip.

"I just wanted a minute alone, if that's okay?" he asked as he slid his arm around her back and led her down the hallway to someplace a little quieter.

Bella followed easily. She liked Sam and she had good instincts about people, and she was fairly certain he wasn't taking her to murder her and keep one of her toes as a souvenir.

Sam stopped when they got to the end of the corridor and he backed Bella up so she was against the wall, but still gave her space. Taking her hand, he smiled down at her with a smile of a man who was clearly attracted to her. It made Bella's knees shake a little.

"I like you, Bella. Can we see each other again?" he asked, running his hand down her forearm and then taking her hand.

"Okay," Bella replied almost in a daze. This had not been her plan but she had already decided to get back on the horse, so there was no reason to say no.

"Good, then I want you to give me your phone number after."

"After what?" Bella asked, her eyes meeting his and getting stuck there.

"After I kiss you." Sam leaned in and his body felt warm against Bella's. She wrapped her arms around his neck and when he took too long, she pulled him to her.

The kiss was electric, full of things she hadn't felt in a long time. His lips moved easily against hers and when he pulled back, she pulled him forward again. He laughed and met her kiss again, one hand coming to rest on her hip.

Bella was smiling but felt shy when the kiss ended. They exchanged phone numbers and then headed back to the table.

Kate clearly knew something was up but said nothing throughout the night until Sam said his goodbye, promising to call.

"Did you do him in the bathroom?" Kate blurted when he was gone.

"Ew, no. We were in the hallway." Kate's mouth dropped open and Bella scrambled to explain. "No, I mean we just kissed, but it was in the hallway, not the bathroom."

Kate's lips twitched up. "Just kissing?"

"Yes, but it was a great kiss," Bella sighed.

Kate smiled at her friend. "Real attraction. Finally!" Kate exclaimed. "That is a good start."

Bella took the last sip of her drink. "Come on, let's go home. I'm beat."

On her way out of the bar, Bella took the flyer for the band competition, stuffing it in her purse to take a look at later.


	6. Chapter 6

**Title** : Seven Minutes in Heaven  
 **Author** : Readingmama/Vampiremama  
 **Beta:** AcrossTheSkyInStars

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

 **Continuity** : AH/AU  
 **Rating** : M

 **Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing, alerting and lurking. I appreciate you all. Huge hugs to my beta Acrosstheskyinstars and to Chartwilightmom for prereading.**

Chapter 6

Bella rubbed the back of her neck as her eyes tried to focus on the spreadsheet she'd been staring at for the past hour. Nothing had been holding her attention, and the day was just getting started. Taking a deep breath, she rolled her chair back and got up, heading toward the door. She needed a break.

Seeking out the vending machine, she grabbed a bottled water and made her way to the break room. Bella hadn't had coffee since her last exam day in college. She had used it religiously for studying and staying up late, but when it was over, she had quit and never looked back. She had amazing will power, when it came to everything but men. It was days like this she wished she could just drink the coffee and forget about the men.

Bella found her thoughts drifting to Sam and their date that night. He was taking her to the race track, she'd never been before and it sounded like a fun first date. The excitement had been making each minute of her day drag on like an hour. Every time she found herself getting hyped up, she would talk herself down. Instant attraction did not equal long-term compatibility; hell, it didn't even guarantee short-term compatibility.

She had been very successful not comparing him to Edward yet, but the fact she made that realization told her she wasn't as successful in forgetting Edward as she thought. But the longing was gone; and as she sat and drank her water, she thought about how Sam's lips felt against hers, how his strong body smelled so good when he was up close.

"What's got you looking so flustered today?" Garrett asked, causing Bella to jump.

"Nothing," Bella mumbled, embarrassed.

"Oh right, you've got a date tonight," he replied, grinning. "That's the look Kate always gets before we go out, too."

Bella rolled her eyes at his joke, but chuckled. Her friend loved him but she was past that moony eyed phase and into the 'take off your pants, I wanna have sex' phase. It worked, and their dynamic was perfect for them. No one would chime in and call them the most romantic couple ever but Bella hoped one day to have something similar, and she smiled when she wondered if it could be with Sam.

 _Stop it, Bella,_ she chided herself.

~~7MiH~~

Bella thought she'd feel out of place without a hat, but it turns out the races didn't look at all like they did in _My Fair Lady_. She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, although she was having a great time and they'd just arrived.

There was an indoor and an outdoor section; the indoor having large floor-to-ceiling windows that let the customers see the track from tables, while the outdoor had stands more like a stadium. There were far more people than she expected to be there on a weeknight, but Sam was able to reserve a table for them.

"So how do I do this again?" Bella said as she looked at the race board.

"You pick a horse, you can look at their stats here," Sam said, opening their program and showing her the page. Bella looked at it and shook her head, not understanding what any of it meant. "Then you decide what kind of bet you want. If you want, you can just bet on if they win, or you can bet across-the-board and that means you will get money if they finish in the top three. The better they finish, the better you do."

Bella looked back up at the board and studied it for a second before she strolled up to the window. The pamphlet she picked up at the door had told her how to bet. "Emerald Downs, race number two, $20 on number six."

"Number six, Bella?" Sam said, coming up behind her, his program open in his hands, "He's not rated so good."

"But I like his name," she replied as she pushed her money through the window. A ticket came back out at her.

Sam chuckled. "I can't help but like a girl who cheers for the underdog. Gives me hope." He winked at her and then stepped by to make his bet.

"You don't seem like and underdog to me," Bella replied when he turned back to her, his bet in hand.

"And yet there is always another guy that comes in and sweeps the girl away on me."

"Telling me you were rejected for the bigger and better might not be the best wooing method."

"Hey," Sam said, raising his hands, "no one said anything about bigger."

Bella looked at him incredulously and then they both burst out laughing.

About forty minutes later, Bella sat counting her winnings smugly as Sam chuckled and shook his head at her.

"Beginners luck," Sam warned.

She tucked the bills into her purse and slapped her hands together. "So what now, do we make more bets?"

Sam smiled like he was the one who won the prize and happily escorted Bella back to the ticket counter. They placed a few more bets, ordered some food, and spent the night talking. Sam's wit captivated Bella, she could tell already that she really liked him and he seemed into her as well. For the first time in years she felt like a normal girl, able to date without a cloud hanging over her.

~~7MiH~~

Sam kissed like a gold medalist. Bella had never kissed a gold medalist but she assumed that if kissing was a sport, Sam would easily win gold for his skills. He had that perfect combination of firmness and wetness so many men just couldn't quite master.

His lips made her heart beat faster and her toes curl in her sensible but fashionable shoes. She pulled him closer as he expertly maneuvered his tongue passed her lips.

She needed a moment to catch her breath after the kiss was over, knowing that if she spoke before she could think, she would invite him in, and she wasn't ready for that yet.

"That was fun," Bella said.

"It doesn't have to stop," Sam replied with a smile, his large hand cascading over her hip and around her back.

Bella's mind followed his line of thought and a whimper escaped her mouth. "Tonight it does," she muttered apologetically.

Nodding, like he expected that answer, Sam leaned and kissed Bella's neck, whispering against her skin, "When can I see you again?"

Bella shivered as his warm breath tickled her neck. "Kate, Garrett and I are going to Mickey's to check out the next band tomorrow night. Would you like to come with us?" Bella offered on a shaky breath.

"I'd love that." He kissed her again in a way that made Bella feel consumed.

Bella begrudgingly said goodnight after that, retreating into her condo as she heard the first sounds of thunder.

~~7MiH~~

After closing the door on Sam and subsequently resting against it, Bella needed a few long deep drags of air. Her breath was racing and it felt like she had just ran a marathon, the way her heart pounded in her chest. She had a hard time peeling her back off the door, worried that she might chase him down and invite him in if she moved.

Finally, a loud bang of thunder startled her enough to move. The bang, followed by a strike of lightning lighting up her room through the window, resulted in the sky opening up and the rain falling hard. The rain pounded on the glass in an angry way, causing Bella to desire the lights on right away. When she walked and flicked the switch, thunder roared but her lights stayed off. She flicked them down and up again, groaning when she realized the power was gone.

Bella grabbed her emergency flashlight from the stand by her door and made her way to the couch. She pulled her throw blanket over her and sat there with both hands holding the flashlight. It wasn't that she hated rain; it was the thunder that always made her uneasy.

The next eruption of thunder Bella could feel all the way in her toes, it sounded like a gun shot and it was followed by three loud knocks on her door. Bella couldn't help the scream that escaped.

"Bella? Are you okay?" Sam's voice called through the door and Bella felt herself relax.

Nearly tripping over the blanket to get to the door, Bella was able to gather herself enough not to tear open the door and fling herself into his arms. When she opened the door, he stood there with a concerned look on his face.

"Sorry, you startled me. Well, you and the thunder," she said.

"I got downstairs and the rain started. I was hoping I might be able to ride out the storm up here," he explained.

"Of course," Bella said, inviting him in, glad to have some company for the storm. "I don't have any lights, though." She held up her flashlight to show him in.

"Do you have any candles?" he asked.

"Afraid not. I'm not very prepared," she chuckled.

"Well, we don't need light anyway," Sam said with a wink.

Bella shifted, almost forgetting about the storm. "Am I going to have to tell you to behave?"

"I promise, only minimal funny business." He leaned in and his lips were suddenly on hers.

~~7MiH~~

Bella woke up with a smile on her face. She could still feel Sam's warm body even though he'd left hours ago after the storm had lifted. They had made out like teenagers, like how she should have been making out when she was a teenager. Sam was respectful but that didn't stop him from trying for more. It was the perfect mixture to make Bella feel desired _and_ respected.

After a shower and a fresh application of makeup, Bella dressed for work and shoved another outfit in a bag for later. Kate was picking her up and then the three of them were going to dinner before meeting Sam at Mickey's to watch the band. Mickey's was not the place to rock out your pantsuit.

She boiled the kettle, making a tea for herself and an instant coffee for Kate in the travel mugs. She had her coat on and bag in hand when Kate buzzed up. Bella pressed the button to let her in the building but didn't bother waiting for her to come up. She locked her door behind her and went to meet her friend.

"You look perky this morning," Kate said with a smile as she took the coffee Bella offered her.

"And you look nosey," Bella replied with a smile, walking passed her and out to the car.

"Soooo, how was the date?" Kate asked once they were buckled in.

"It was fun. He's coming to see the band tonight," Bella replied, knowing that Kate would be fine with the extra guest.

"Fun? How fun?"

"Fun enough," Bella replied with a smile on her face that made her friend laugh.

"I'm really happy for you, Bella. I think it's great you've finally met someone that can make you forget about that Edward guy."

"Me too," Bella replied, "It's like you said, he's probably not the same person anymore. So why hold on?"

~~7MiH~~

Mickey's was far more packed that it had been the previous week. Garrett had heard some buzz about the band being incredible. Although looking around and seeing the mass of women in the bar, Bella wondered if they were there to see the band or one of the band mates. Mickey's didn't usually attract nearly underage women who showed more skin than not but the atmosphere was different tonight. Girls in crop tops and tiny skirts milled around, planting themselves on the dance floor and holding their positions as it came closer to the time the band was going on.

"Do these guys play naked or something?" Kate asked Bella and they laughed.

"And here I forgot my extra set of panties to throw," Garrett chimed in.

Bella scanned the room, and the moment she saw Sam, she could feel what it was like to have his arms around her. She'd never been with a man so muscular, every inch of him was toned and she liked the way that hardness felt against her softness. He was showing that hardness off in a fitted black t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

"Hi, Bella," he said, his deep voice dipping as he leaned and kissed her hello.

"Hi, Sam," she replied a grin on her face as he pulled back.

Bella was so entranced in conversation that she didn't even notice when the band took to the stage to set up; it wasn't until they played their first chord that she remembered why they were there. Lost in her conversation with Sam, she just raised her voice and tried to keep speaking but it became impossible when the scours of scantily clad women began to scream.

Kate leaned over and rolled her eyes as she yelled in Bella's ear, "What is up, it's not like these guys are that good?"

Bella had liked the song well enough so far but she knew there was more to it than the music so she stretched up on her seat to see the band. Kate did the same and then laughed.

"Oh, I get it now," Kate said, checking out the singer and lead gutarist. "He's hot."

"He's Edward," Bella said, the color draining from her face.


	7. Chapter 7

**Title** : Seven Minutes in Heaven  
 **Author** : Readingmama/Vampiremama  
 **Beta:** AcrossTheSkyInStars

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

 **Continuity** : AH/AU  
 **Rating** : M

 **Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing, alerting and lurking. I appreciate you all. Huge hugs to my beta Acrosstheskyinstars and to Chartwilightmom for prereading.**

Chapter 7

There was something very wrong with Bella. She acknowledged this as she sat outside in the car alone. She had excused herself, telling Sam she wasn't feeling well, but the truth was, she was scared shitless. Seeing Edward again had made what she felt for Sam feel like nothing more than what she felt for Kate, friendship. She had forgotten what real butterflies felt like and this new onslaught of them made her want to puke.

She had been right about Edward though, he was different. She could see it immediately. Gone was the unsure boy and in his place stood a very confident man. He owned the stage and his appeal, winking at the girls in the front row as he sang. His hair was still the same messy mop of copper it had always been but the rest of him had gone through a major transformation. His arms, toned and strong, supported several tattoos, although Bella couldn't really tell what of from her seat, and his chest, hidden by a tight black t-shirt with a low dipping V, was just as taught. His face was more mature and angular, a strong chin and defined cheekbones. His eyes held knowledge that Bella could only guess where it came from.

It wasn't all these things that made Bella run for fresh air, but it was what he was singing about. Sex and desire, giving in to the carnal lust; it was against everything he ever told Bella. It confused her because instead of making her feel like the dirty teenager she once was, it made her want to run up on stage and say _fuck it_ , and take what she wanted.

It wasn't until Sam had leaned over and asked if she was alright that she snapped out of her haze and made her hasty exit. Sam had offered to drive her home but she declined, just telling him she needed a few minutes of air. He unwillingly let her go alone after she insisted but she could tell he wasn't pleased. And why would he be? She invited him only to ditch him five minutes after he arrived.

She should have gone home and forgotten the whole night ever happened, but she couldn't. The thought that she would get one more glimpse of him, she had to wait and see. He was totally out of her league, that had always been the case, but it was clear with all his adoring fans that now he would see it. So, Bella sat in the car and told herself about all the ways it wouldn't work; they didn't want the same things anymore, Edward was obviously a ladies man, he was ridiculously hot and there was no way Bella would be able to satisfy a man who looked like that. Maybe she once thought she knew more about sex than Edward, but she was long out of practice and she doubted that being with Edward would be like riding a bicycle.

"This is stupid, Bella," she chastised herself. "You have a great guy waiting for you in there. Go be with him."

Bella willed herself out of the car, still not wanting to move in the least. She started for the door but then derailed when two girls smoking just in front of it started laughing and talking about Edward. She found herself ducking into the alley between the club and the dry cleaners next door.

She leaned against the wall and banged her head three times on the wall behind her as she muttered, "Pull yourself together."

"Excuse me?" a voice replied and Bella squeaked.

Her eyes darted around the alley, the small light above the side door only giving off a dim light. A figured stepped out from behind the dumpster, and Bella knew before he hit the light it was Edward.

"Nothing," she mumbled and looked down, letting her hair come to hide her face. She hoped he wouldn't recognize her. That she could prove to herself that she didn't mean to him what he meant to her. Then she would have real closure and be able to move on.

"Bella? Bella Swan?"

"Ah, fuck," she blurted.

Edward laughed, "It is you, I'd know that fuck anywhere." He reached for her and pulled her off the wall, giving her a hug that felt warm and familiar.

"Hi, Edward," she replied, finding her voice, her arms awkwardly returning his embrace. "You look good, how have you been?"

"Can't complain," he answered and shook his head. "I can't believe it's you. I knew you might still be in the area but I had no idea I'd run into you on tour."

"Yeah." Bella shifted a bit uncomfortably. "This is sort of my hang out place. You guys sound really good. You seem to have a lot of fans already."

"If I can count you among them, then I have my favorite fan." He smiled charmingly.

"I bet you say that to all the girls," Bella replied, trying to hide the thunderous thumping of her heart.

"Well, yeah, marketing and all, but with you it's true."

Bella looked at him for a moment, stunned, and then they both burst out in laughter.

"You really have changed." Bella reached out and brushed her fingers over one of the tattoos on his arm, a set of musical notes.

"Not all that much," Edward said, studying her face.

"Well it was really nice to see you, I better let you get back before all those girls start to riot." Bella smiled but it did not reach her eyes.

She turned and began to walk away but Edward grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Bella?" She turned to look at him. "Are you seeing anyone?"

"Yes. No. Kind of," she blurted uneasily. "I just started seeing someone but it's not serious. Are you seeing anyone?"

Edward smiled. "No. Can I see you again while I'm still in town?"

Bella bristled, wondering if that was a good idea. "How long are you in town for?"

"A week," he replied.

"Hey Edward, we're on man," one of his band mates called from the side door.

"Coming," he called. He pulled out his phone and brought up his contact info, holding it out to beam to Bella's phone. She did the same, unable to think in the panic to get him back on stage.

"I'll see you soon, Bella," he said and ran to the door.

Bella stared at her phone for a few minutes, looking at his contact information staring at her. Then she slipped it in her pocket and made her way out of the alley.

"There you are," Sam said with a sigh. "I was getting worried about you and I couldn't find you."

"I'm sorry," Bella said softly, feeling uncomfortable.

"Are you ready to go back in?"

Bella nodded and Sam wrapped his arm around her. It felt heavy and foreign but she stayed under it as they went back to their table.

The easy conversation from the beginning of the night was gone and Bella spent the rest of the evening watching the band while Sam watched her.

~~7MiH~~

After the entirety of Saturday passing her by and not a word from Edward, Bella decided that his request to meet up while he was in town had been a pleasantry, which was for the best, really, because a guy who really liked her, and was living in her city, had spent the entire day calling her. She convinced herself that him asking her if she was seeing anyone was just curiosity, not interest.

She sighed as she saw Sam's number pop up once again on her cell phone. She felt bad for not answering but she didn't want to do anything rash—or frankly, stupid—until she got her feelings under control. There was no use telling Sam she couldn't see him anymore just because she'd caught a glimpse of her old love. Even though many of the feelings had rushed back to her, Bella couldn't be sure if it was fond memory or current feeling that sprouted.

The phone stopped ringing and a minute later another text message popped up.

 _Bella, I've been trying to get a hold of you. I was hoping we could do dinner tonight._

Bella looked at her clock and it was already six-thirty. She knew exactly what he was doing, he saw the way she looked at Edward on stage; he was floundering. Wishing she could reassure him, but knowing she couldn't quite yet, she decided to answer his text pretending to be ill.

As soon as she got his sympathetic reply to get better soon, she felt a real headache stirring. After taking several years of getting Edward out of her system, she'd only had a week of reprieve and now she wondered just how long it was going to take to forget him again.

After a nap and a shower, Bella put her pajamas back on and sat down on the couch to watch some TV, but no sooner had she flicked it on than a knock came at her door.

"Sam?" she said in surprise as she opened to find him standing on the other side, looking dressed to impress. He was in a pair of blue jeans that hugged his frame just right and a leather jacket that accentuated his broad shoulders.

"I brought soup," he said with the good sense to look bashful.

She opened the door further to let him and she sighed. "That's very sweet of you."

He placed the soup down on the coffee table before going to her kitchen to find a spoon. "I thought maybe we could watch a movie together or something," he said and then he took her in, making Bella squirm under his gaze. She knew she didn't look sick but at least she was in her pajamas.

"Uh, sure," she replied

Sam went and chose a movie from her collection, putting it in while Bella ate the soup. She usually didn't enjoy soup unless she was sick but she was going to stomach it because the gesture, although unwanted, had been incredibly nice. When she finished, Sam coaxed her to lie down, placing her head in his lap and stroking her hair.

Had she been actually sick, she would have loved the attention, but being a big fat liar, she felt her gut knot with guilt with each kind act. About halfway through the movie, Bella was about to confess when her cell phone rang. Her heart stopped and she sat up, reaching to grab it. Her face paled as she saw it was the call she had been waiting for all day.

There was no way she could answer this call in front of Sam so she silenced the ringer and very deliberately put it back down on the coffee table. Sam was too busy watching the movie to notice how stiff she was when she laid back down against him. Her eyes watched her phone long past the ding of the new voicemail. Her guilt was replaced by something else, genuine need to get Sam out of her condo so she could check that message.

The movie had felt like an eon before it was over, but once it was Bella sat up and stretched. She pretended to yawn even though she had never been more keyed up in her life.

"Thanks again for coming by, it was really nice of you," Bella said and hoped she sounded sincere.

"Feel better soon," he replied softly and leaned over to kiss her cheek.

"Okay," she replied with what she hoped looked like a sleepy smile. She showed him to the door and once he was finally through it, she felt her heart start pounding.

There was a moment of her body freezing, unable to move, and then like a lightning bolt she sprang into action, nearly leaping furniture to get to her phone. She picked it up and hit the voicemail button and then impatiently typed in her password and waited for message.

"You have one new message, to…" Bella hit the button and waited.

"Hey Bella, it's Edward. Give me a call when you get this."

Bella didn't even hesitate bringing up his contact information and hitting send.


	8. Chapter 8

**Title** : Seven Minutes in Heaven  
 **Author** : Readingmama/Vampiremama  
 **Beta:** AcrossTheSkyInStars

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

 **Continuity** : AH/AU  
 **Rating** : M

 **Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing, alerting and lurking. I appreciate you all. Huge hugs to my beta Acrosstheskyinstars and to Chartwilightmom for prereading.**

Chapter 8

Edward was ridiculously good looking. As if all the hottest celebrities had combined their genes to make a demi god. He was chiseled to perfection, a tight white t-shirt showing off his physique and a pair of jeans that showed off _his_ excellent genes.

"So tell me about yourself. What have you been up to?" he asked. Bella thought he looked perfect in her apartment, sitting on her mismatched furniture and smiling at her, interested in her answer.

It had the potential to be the perfect evening, but then Bella opened her mouth to answer and instead of responding, she began accusing. "Why did you stop emailing?"

The words sat raw between them, and Edward looked down. There was an awkward pause followed by a quiet answer. "It hurt too much. They were becoming so infrequent and I worried that you'd become a stranger. I wanted to keep the part of you that I had. Never forget what we were like together. I didn't want that to fade."

Bella felt the sting of his admission, but she knew in her heart, she had stopped for the same reasons.

"You seem different now," Bella observed.

"Different how?"

"I don't know…more confident, for one. The lyrics of your songs, all those girls…" She trailed off.

Edward brushed his hand across his leg. "It's just a persona, Bella. I'm not an idiot, sex sells."

"So you never take those girls back to your trailer or motel or wherever you stay?" Although the question wasn't full of judgment, Bella wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer. She picked up her drink, hoping the glass would effectively hide the fear she was feeling about his answer.

"Just because I had all the answers in my youth, doesn't mean I didn't still make mistakes," he replied with a small chuckle. "I'm not going to say I never did, but I only did a couple of times before I realized how hollow it made me feel and I stopped. Does that change things for you?" He looked at her with sincerity, laying himself out for her with complete honesty.

"No," she replied, "not at all. You never judged me for the things I had done, I would be a hypocrite to judge you for what you have done." Bella set her glass down. "This was pretty heavy for a first date."

Edward smiled. "We never did anything the normal way, why start now?"

Bella decided not to think about the short amount of time Edward would be in town, or what they would do when he left. She made up her mind to enjoy the time she had with him and would deal with the rest later. After all, she had only had a short time with him before, and it was the best of her life, would she really turn it down because it was limited?

But hell, a week was really short.

~~7MiH~~

Bella's lips were chapped, her chin was rubbed raw, and she'd never been happier. Edward and his adult scruff had exfoliated what must have been years of skin off her face, and she couldn't go out without a heavy coat of makeup over it to hide the red. There were other places that had been rubbed raw on her as well, but mostly they had been taking it slow, while at the same time rushing to enjoy every minute.

They had gone out one night with Edward's band mates, and Bella had liked them but they only lasted about a half hour before they separated ways so the couple could go back to Edward's hotel and make out some more.

Bella couldn't believe how quickly they fell back into their easy company. Edward was exactly who she remembered, and yet different. Knowing something is one thing but experiencing it shapes a person, gives them character. And Edward's character was sexy as hell.

"Come with me, I want to show you something." Edward pulled open the dilapidated door. The alley he had led her down was not somewhere she would normally feel safe, but Edward always had a way of putting her at ease.

Still, she couldn't resist teasing him. "Is this the part where you tell me that we can never be apart and you chop me up to take with you in several small bags?"

"No," Edward replied, "decay doesn't hold the same allure it once did for me." He sighed dramatically. "Those were the days, though."

Bella giggled and slapped him as she followed him into the dark building. The area was large, it had obviously been a club at one time but it was run into the ground. There were a couple tables and a few chairs on the floor that looked like they would fall apart if you sneezed on them. The bar was covered in dust that looked caked on with grease, or perhaps the stickiness of too many spilled drinks that hadn't been cleaned up.

"I think you need to update your Google maps, Edward, this place isn't as happening as it once was."

"No, but it will be," he said.

"What do you mean?" she asked as she turned around to view the whole room.

"The band and I bought this place. That's why we are here for the week. We were looking for real estate. We want to open a club."

The implications of what Edward was saying were many but Bella only heard one. "You're staying?"

Her face lit up and Edward immediately looked guilty. "Not yet. We have to finish our tour. We have commitments but while we are doing that, we are going to start on the renovations of this place."

"Will you be hiring someone to run it? You aren't giving up your music are you?" she inquired.

"No, the band will still be working and touring as much as we can. It's the only way to stay afloat in this business. But that will make this our home base. Where we come back to and where I spend my time off. I know it's a lot to ask and I can't really expect you to wait around for me. But when I come home, I'd like to come home to you."

Bella nodded. Her gut instinct was to just say yes, and had she been eighteen, it's just what she would have said. But at twenty five, while her biological clock wasn't quite ticking, she had the sense to know what she wanted for her future.

"I don't know, Edward. I like you, a lot. You are unlike anyone I've ever known but I don't know that I can commit myself to someone that just won't be here most of the time."

Edward's face fell but he nodded. "I understand."

"I'm not saying no. I just think we should take this one step at a time. Let's enjoy our week and we'll talk while you are on the road. As easy as it would be, I can't throw myself into this fully until we see if it will even work."

Edward looked confused but nodded again. He didn't really speak girl but she wasn't saying no, and that was enough for him for now. He stepped toward Bella and wrapped his arms around her.

"Dating me will never be like dating other guys. I love my music and that means I'll be on the road a lot," he replied apologetically.

"I wouldn't expect it to be. I just need to know if this kind of relationship will work for me before we make a large commitment. Hell, it might not work for you. I don't think either of us should have that pressure. I don't want this to turn into occasional emails that just stop again. Whether we function as a couple or not, I want you as my friend."

Edward smiled. "You grew up to be a very smart woman, Bella."

He leaned and kissed her, causing her toes to curl and her arms to hold on for dear life. Her mind may be sensible but her heart screamed to hold on and never let go.

~~7MiH~~

They made it through the rest of the week without sex. It had been close the last night but the decision had been made within their eyes and they waited. Bella felt torn as she watched Edward load his things up on the tour bus. She could see the excitement in his eyes for his music and being on the road, but she wished they had some more time together, another week to cement what they had before they tested it apart. She knew Edward wasn't the cheating kind, but she had been clear that they were just going to be casual. Let it build naturally, which sort of meant they weren't exclusive.

All of Edward's band mates gave her a hug before disappearing into the bus, leaving her alone with him. She gave him her best smile, it wasn't right to make him feel guilty for doing his job.

"I'll miss you," she whispered.

"I'll miss you too," he replied, hugging her tight to him.

They stood like that for a few minutes, their bodies curved to one another's, not saying a word. Bella felt relaxed in his arms and she let herself hope for a moment that she could do this. That the time together would be worth the time apart.

"Hey, man, we got to go," the blonde bass player, Jasper, called.

Bella could feel Edward's sigh and then he pulled back and smile at her. The kiss he gave her was soft and sweet, yet it made her body boil like he had undressed her and kissed every inch of her.

"I'll call you soon," his soft voice spoke.

"Okay," Bella answered back.

And then he was up on the bus and gone. She watched as it pulled away before she turned and got into her car to head back home. As soon as she turned on her car, her phone rang. She smiled and hit answer.

"Miss me already?"

"Actually, I have missed you. I meant to call earlier and ask how you were feeling."

"Sam." _Shit._ "Hi."

"Bella? Are you feeling okay? You sound weird," he said, his voice full of concern.

"Yeah, sorry, I'm just driving." She revved her engine a little as she scrambled to think.

"Well I was wondering if you were wanting to go see the band at Mickey's tonight.

Bella had already planned on going with Kate and Garrett, she couldn't really blow him off, but it didn't feel right to keep seeing him, even if she and Edward weren't exclusive. Sam was a great guy and he didn't deserve to be strung along.

"Yeah, sure. Can we meet for coffee before?" Bella asked. "There's something I need to talk to you about first."

"Okay," Sam said, clearly pleased with the extra time together. "I'll pick you up at seven?"

"Alright, see you then," Bella replied and then hung up. She looked in her rear view mirror, still expecting to see Edward's tour bus, but it was long gone.

It was still early and already this was shaping up to be a shit-tastic day.

~~7MiH~~

Sam sat looking completely innocent and just as handsome as ever as Bella arrived at the coffee shop. While Bella knew she wasn't going to be breaking his heart — they really hadn't been together long enough for that — she knew he wasn't going to see this coming. After all, they had gotten along very well and the chemistry had been there.

He stood up when he saw her and Bella gave him a small smile as she pulled up a chair. He had her tea setting there already for her. It was one of the things she'd liked best about him when they'd first gotten together, he paid attention.

It was only after she looked back up at him did she realize that he probably meant to hug or kiss her hello, and she'd been so lost in her thought she'd turned the moment awkward.

"Have you had a good week?" Sam asked cautiously, the worry already showing in his eyes.

Bella felt weary all of a sudden. Her week had been fantastic, but it was over now and her future was uncertain. It would be another three months before she would see Edward again, and although they would talk, she knew it wouldn't be for long. She would be working in the days and he'd be playing or traveling in the nights. The weekends, during the days, would be the only time they might have a decent chunk of time to talk.

Of course none of these things she wanted to say to Sam.

"We need to talk." She flinched at the same time he did when the words came out.

"Uh oh." He attempted levity but it fell flat.

Bella's smile reassured no one. "I met someone. Well I was reacquainted with someone and I don't know where it's going, it's one of those things I have to see through."

Sam sighed a little and nodded. "It's okay. I get it. It's the guy from the band, isn't it?"

"Yeah," she admitted.

"I figured. Damned bad boys always win." Sam's attempt at humor made Bella smile.

"He's more like you than you know."

Sam looked reflective for a moment. "I like you, Bella. I hope we can still be friends. Still hang out at Mickey's sometimes."

"I'd like that." This time her smile was genuine.

Bella picked up her tea and they spent the next twenty minutes chatting. They avoided the topic of Edward and it became easy to fall into a friendship mode. By the time they parted ways, Bella felt much lighter. Still, it didn't stop her from calling Kate to keep her company that night. It had been an emotional day and she needed her friend.

Kate held her hand as Bella told her about her day.

"Well that really blows," she said when Bella finished. "Do you think you and Edward will be able to make it? That is a lot of time apart. And you just reconnected."

"I don't know. But when I'm with him, I just want to make it work so bad. I get that it's going to be hard, but I lose him if I don't try, so why not try?"

Kate smiled and poured them both another glass of wine. "So then tell me why you couldn't have kept Sam around, just until you knew for sure, I liked him," Kate whined playfully.

"He'll still be around, just as friends. It's not fair to him, and it just didn't feel like it used to now that Edward is back in the picture."

"I like Edward," Kate said finally after a long silence. "But I will chop off his balls if he screws around with you."

Bella smiled cheekily. "I thought you wanted me to be screwing around."

"Shut up, bag," Kate said with a laugh.

A few hours later when Garrett came to pick Kate up, both girls were a little tipsy but in good spirits. Kate had been there for Bella but not given her too high hopes. It was exactly how she needed to view what she was about to undertake. The relationship had to be real and not a fantasy, or it would never work.


	9. Chapter 9

**Title** : Seven Minutes in Heaven  
 **Author** : Readingmama/Vampiremama  
 **Beta:** AcrossTheSkyInStars

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

 **Continuity** : AH/AU  
 **Rating** : M

 **Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing, alerting and lurking. I appreciate you all. Huge hugs to my beta Acrosstheskyinstars and to Chartwilightmom for prereading.**

Chapter 9

Bella spent the next few weeks learning about Edward's band. Google had become her new best friend so much that Kate seemed to give her computer a dirty look every time she walked by.

"They don't have a manager," Bella said as she looked up at her friend who crossed by on her way to the kitchen to grab a drink.

"They are a small band, Bella. They can't afford a manager likely. Unless a band has a record contract, they don't really live in the lap of luxury."

Bella wrinkled her nose. She'd make a good manager; then she could be on the road with Edward all the time. The idea was stupid and reckless and she wished she was still seventeen so she could continue to convince herself that quitting her job to be a groupie was a good idea.

 **4 weeks later**

"Did I make a mistake?" Bella asked Kate as she watched Sam dancing with his new girlfriend, Emily. She was tall and dark and beautiful, and they looked so good together. It made Bella's heart tug that it would still be two more weeks before she saw Edward, and still it would only be for a few days.

"Definitely," Kate replied, earning her a shoulder bump from Garrett. "What?" she hissed at him. "Sam is a fine specimen. I mean, so is Edward, but Sam is here and you could have been tapping that."

"We both know you wanted to tap that far more than Bella," Garrett teased, totally unworried. He knew he had Kate's heart and the smile she gave him proved he had hers.

"This is harder than I thought it would be," Bella admitted out loud for the first time. A few hurried phone calls over the past month did nothing but make her heart long.

Kate sighed and looked helpless at her friend. "Come on, let's dance. You know you love when we make all the boys look at us thinking we're lesbians." Bella rolled her eyes but smiled at her friend's joke. "Alright, you come too, Garret, we'll make a sandwich out of you."

The three of them made their way to the dance floor. Bella found herself having fun but something was missing. She just couldn't decide if it was worth waiting for.

"I miss you so much," Bella said, cradling the phone to her ear as she sat in her oversized chair. Everything seemed so clear when she could hear him. Waiting was easy when she had tangible reasons to.

"I miss you, too," Edward replied. "Only one more day." The road was wearing on him and Bella could tell he needed a recharge.

"You sound exhausted."

"It's always like this near the end of the tour. A good night's sleep in a real bed will fix me right up."

"And whose bed are you going to be in? Because last I heard, you didn't have a place secured here yet," she teased.

"Well I don't want to assume, but I was hoping I could stay with you?" Edward asked shyly.

"Of course you can," Bella said with a smile. But she was met with silence. "Edward?"

"Watch out!" he yelled but it sounded far away.

The next few moments were unlike any Bella had ever experienced, screeching and the sound of metal on metal came barreling through the earpiece.

"Edward? Edward!" The first was timid, the second came out as a scream.

Her heart pounded as the seconds felt like hours, waiting to hear something, anything to indicate Edward was okay. Too long, she thought to herself as she waited and waited. The sounds of the sirens began quietly and then grew.

"Please, please, please," Bella chanted softly as she strained to hear anything.

Voices shouted out instructions but they bounced off Bella's understanding, making it feel like they were speaking in a different language. Finally something made it passed her confused brain.

"We need a stretcher over here, and oxygen. Bleeding is bad."

Bella's heart pounded faster and the lump in her throat grew. Not Edward, not after they had just found each other again.

More words were passed between the obvious paramedics but Bella couldn't understand what any of it meant. She wanted to scream into the phone, to get them to hear her, to find out. Still, there was a part of her scared to do it. What if she interrupted them when Edward needed them the most? What if these were his last moments?

Bella jumped up, pulling her cell phone away from her ear. Quickly she hit the location button on the phone, her eyes frantically searching for a familiar name. She zoomed out and saw the name of the town, then put the phone back to her ear.

Silence.

The paramedics were gone.

Reluctantly, Bella ended the call, there wasn't much more she could do. Her mind became deathly calm, and a list of what to do became clear. Texting Kate, she grabbed a duffle from the closet and began to fill it with clothes and her toiletries. Even though she felt in control, she knew she shouldn't drive. The closer she got to Edward, the more unravelled she was likely to become. She didn't think Edward would have a chance to get to his phone but if he did, she wanted him to know she was on her way, so she texted him as well. Once her bag was packed, she locked up her place and headed outside to wait for Kate.

Once they were on the road, Bella wondered if she made a mistake having Kate drive her at all. Her friend was more anxious than she was.

"How do you know where they took him?" Kate asked, tapping nervously on the steering wheel.

"There is only one hospital in the area," Bella answered, not taking her eyes off the stain on the dash, it gave her something else to focus on.

Kate opened her mouth to say something else, but a quick glance at Bella stopped her. Bella knew she probably looked rabid. Her eyes were glassy, she wasn't sure she could string together more than one coherent sentence.

As they drove, her mind would start to wander, but Bella would quickly snap it back with facts; the next turn Kate needed to take, the words of the song playing on the radio, anything that would help her stay distracted from the fact that she may have had her last conversation with Edward, her last kiss, her last everything.

Bella knew the ride was going to be long and she should probably rest before she got there, but the best she was going to be able to do was to close her eyes. Even then it was for no more than fifteen minutes before her mind was full of images of her and Edward together, and her throat would tighten and she'd have to open her eyes to clear her emotions.

"Looks like we're getting close," Kate said when Bella opened her eyes again, nodding at the GPS showing on her phone screen.

The hospital parking lot only had a handful of cars in it. It looked too small to have all the services a hospital could need, but Bella told herself to calm down. The town was small but they wouldn't bring him here if they couldn't help him.

Unless it was too late.

Bella walked briskly, a couple steps in front of her friend to the front desk. A older blonde woman smiled up at her with the tired eyes of someone who'd worked a double shift.

"I'm looking for Edward Cullen, he was in an accident."

The lady looked at her computer and typed, and then looked back up, her eyes looked even more haggard after looking at the information.

"Down the hall, second door on your right. Room 124B"

"Thank you," Kate said for Bella as she was already half jogging down the hall.

As she rounded the corner, she stopped dead. Leaning over the bed a petite woman was sniffling. Bella's heart leapt into her throat. The girl must have sensed her because her head lifted and she turned to face Bella.

"Bella? Bella Swan?"

"Alice?" Bella said in recognition.

Alice was up out of her chair and she ran to Bella, tossing her thin arms around her and squeezing her tight.

Bella looked at Edward on the bed as she held Alice, her body trembling.

Just as Kate came around the corner, Bella said, "Is he going to be okay?"

Alice responded by sobbing harder.


	10. Chapter 10

**Title** : Seven Minutes in Heaven  
 **Author** : Readingmama/Vampiremama  
 **Beta:** AcrossTheSkyInStars

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

 **Continuity** : AH/AU  
 **Rating** : M

 **Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing, alerting and lurking. I appreciate you all. Huge hugs to my beta Acrosstheskyinstars and to Chartwilightmom for prereading.**

Chapter 10

 **12 Weeks Later**

Bella stared at the empty warehouse. By now it should have had a bar along the side wall, dance floor laid, and new lighting. Instead, Edward's dream club looked just as it did the day he bought it.

"He really would have loved this," Bella said, looking around. Alice sighed and she nodded.

"As much as he loved the band, this was his long term plan. He wanted to have a place to call home. We should do it."

"Do what?" Bella asked.

"Get this place up and running. I mean, I know some contractors that would get me a good rate."

Bella looked around once more and she smiled a little. This was something she could do for him.

 **6 Months Later**

"Get your lazy ass out of bed," Alice called out as she pulled the blankets off, causing Bella to wince.

"Go away, Alice," Edward said, trying to grab for the blanket

"No, the doctor said you need to be up and walking as much as you can."

"Doctors are stupid, come here, Bella. Tell her you're on my side." He batted his eyes at Bella and she giggled. It was good to hear him joking.

It had been a rough six months. Edward had lost two of his bandmates in the accident and suffered two broken legs and a few cracked ribs. He'd been inconsolable for the first month and had tried to push Bella away, but after the scare she'd had, she knew he was it for her. The thought of another day of her life without him was too much to bear.

"Come on, baby," she said, smiling at him. "We have a surprise for you."

"You know that would sound a lot more sexy if my sister weren't involved."

"Ew," Alice said and picked up a shirt from the end of the bed and threw it at him.

Edward laughed and swung his legs, but he winced when he put weight on them. Bella was beside him in an instant, wrapping her arm around his waist and supporting him until he was standing tall.

"Alright, what's this surprise?" he asked, his voice more pinched than it had been when he was laying down.

"It's in the living room," Alice replied cryptically and she sauntered out, giving Edward and Bella some privacy to make the trek.

"What's all this?" Edward asked as he made his way to the open books and drawings laying on the coffee table.

Alice replied, "It's just some ideas, but I talked with James and he thinks he can have the work done in three months, so knowing James, I would say six. But his work is impeccable."

Edward looked toward Bella confused, as if willing her to translate his sister's ramblings.

"The Club," Bella explained and she hated the look that came over Edward's eyes. "I know it's hard, and if you say you don't want it anymore that is fine, but it was your dream and you can still have it."

Edward looked toward the pictures and then back at Bella. "This was your idea?" he asked, picking up one that had a sketch of a stage that had a section set up for a DJ and lighting and space for live bands.

"Well Alice and I have been working on this together," she replied nervously.

He didn't say anything, instead, he winced as he leaned down and picked up a few of the sketches. Bella looked over to Alice and found his sister smiling. Edward took a few of the sketches to the table and grabbed a pencil and began to tweak the images.

"Come on," Alice said, "let's leave him to it."

 **6 months later**

The club had been opened a week and Bella was exhausted. She never knew how much work it could be to book bands, even with Edward's connections. Between her day job and helping Edward get everything up and going, she needed a night off but knew that was unlikely to happen any time soon. Still, she couldn't imagine her life any other way.

She made her way home, planning to change quickly, grab something to eat, and head over to meet Edward at the club. So she found herself nearly screaming when she walked in and found Edward standing by the door.

"What are you doing here?" she said, trying to catch her breath.

"I live here," he replied cheekily, and she smiled because him moving in with her was one of her happiest days.

"Yes, but what about the club?"

"Alice has it under control for a couple hours. I thought we could use some time together, it's been too long since we've had some alone time."

Bella smiled and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. They had been intimate since his accident but it wasn't often, and with the stress, Bella couldn't deny that she'd been aching for more.

"I made dinner," he said, smiling and leaning to kiss her.

"I'm not hungry," she replied, her hands running down to his ass.

"I'm trying to be romantic here," he said and there was a bit of an edge to his voice, but not anger. Bella couldn't put her finger on it.

Edward sighed. "Come on, I want to show you something," Edward said, grabbing Bella's hand and leading her toward the closet. He opened the door.

"It's been a long time since we've been in here," Bella replied, laughing. "Are you after that blowjob you turned down so many years ago?"

"Well yes," he admitted shutting the door behind them, leaving them in the dark. "But I want to earn it first."

"Oh," Bella replied in a sing-song voice as she grabbed his waistband and pulled him forward. "That sounds intriguing. Hey, what are you doing?"

Edward pulled back from Bella and she frowned into the dark. "What's going on?" she asked, some of her playfulness gone.

"This seemed like a better idea in my head," Edward admitted making a small sound, and Bella, starting to worry, opened the closet door, letting the light in.

There before her, kneeled Edward. He held a ring box up and he blinked as his eyes readjusted to the light. Bella gasped.

"Will you marry me?"

"You really are serious about that blowjob," she stammered, still in shock, her hands shaking.

"Bella, be serious," he admonished but there was a smile on his face. "You have always been exactly right for me. You deserve better…"

"Oh shut up," Bella cut him off. "There is no better. You've always shown me exactly what I deserve, even when I didn't see it myself. So yes, Edward, of course I will marry you!"

He stood up and wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her. His strong arms held her close and he reached over and closed the door again. It was a lot longer than seven minutes, but it was definitely heaven.

The End

E/N: Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed. I appreciate you all. Make sure you check out some of the other wonderful fics written for the exchange.

See you next time.


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